The present invention relates to a guide for drawers with controlled sliding. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing such a guide and a manufacturing machine applying such a method.
In the field of guides for drawers different applications are known in which a particularly clear locking of the drawer at the end of its stroke is required. An example of these applications is use of same in moving means such as ships or campers. Therefore guides have been proposed in which accessories acting like spring ratchets are applied to lock the wheel of the movable guide portion to its closed position.
This solution however is relatively expensive, since additional elements are required to be provided for the guides involving mere sliding. Furthermore, the additional elements may break or be damaged with use to such an extent that the guide may loose its desired locking quality in the closed position.
It is a general aim of the present invention to obviate the above mentioned drawbacks by providing a guide in which there is a region with controlled sliding without additional elements being required as compared with standard guides. Further aims are to provide a method and a machine for manufacturing such guides.
In view of the above aims, in accordance with the invention, a guide for drawers has been conceived which comprises two elongated metal parts, mutually slidable along each other, one of said parts having a wall of substantially stiff behaviour conveniently bent to define a raceway with play for a wheel rotatably fastened to the other part, characterised in that in the raceway a wall region is deformed to define a passage having a predetermined interference for the wheel.
Still in accordance with the invention a method of manufacturing a guide for drawers which comprises two elongated metal parts mutually slidable along each other has been devised, which comprises the steps of bending a wall of a first one of said two parts to define a raceway with play for a wheel rotatably fastened to the other part, inserting a gauged template into a predetermined region of the raceway, deforming the raceway from the outside against the template to obtain a passage with a predetermined interference for the wheel in said predetermined region.
Finally, a machine has been also devised for use in manufacturing guides for drawers formed of two elongated metal parts, mutually slidable along each other, one of said two parts having a wall of substantially stiff behaviour bent to define a raceway with play for a wheel rotatably fastened to the other part, the machine comprising retention elements for said one guide part, a gauged template to be inserted into the raceway in a predetermined region and press elements deforming the raceway from the outside against the template to obtain a passage having a predetermined interference for the wheel in said predetermined region.